Gesture control for electronics could soon become an alternative to touchscreens and sensing technologies.
In gesture recognition technology, the sensor is able to read hand gestures and use them to control electronic devices without physical contact.
Google’s Project Soli will allow users to interact with their computers or wearable devices using hand gestures. The gesture technology is so precise that it can even work on the smallest of displays. This game-changer technology can recognize the slightest finger movements using invisible radar emanating from tiny microchips.
To shrink the shoebox sized radar, which is generally used by law enforcement agencies to measure the speed of vehicles, the project team worked with the German chip manufacturer Infineon. They successfully shrank the radar down to millimeters…tiny enough to fit on a microchip.
The fingernail-sized chip uses broad beam radar to recognize sub-millimeter hand movements, velocity, and distance at high speed and accuracy. The movements are then translated into commands just like touches on a screen.
Soli definitely holds a lot of potential for wearable devices. The small screens of these wearable devices makes it really difficult to select any particular feature. But a hand gesture just next to the device will make navigation much easier and faster.
